Below are today’s interest rates. With so much uncertainty in the financial markets, the rates will continue to be very volatile this week and can certainly climb rapidly without any notice.Conventional 30 year fixed - 4.375% Conventional 5/1 ARM - 2.75%FHA / VA / USDA - 30 year fixed - 4.25% Continue reading ‘This Week in Mortgage Rates 8/1/2011′
Florida was a stand-out in the Federal Reserve’s latest report on real estate in the Southeast region of the United States.
Amid gloomy reports from brokers in the Fed’s Atlanta district, authors of the closely watched economic report card noted Florida was bucking the trend and reporting positive news.
This has been a running theme in the Fed’s monthly Beige Books, with sales of Florida homes outperforming the rest of the South. In tempered language for its July report, the Fed said the Atlanta district’s reports of modest growth in home sales over the prior year came thanks to the Sunshine State.
Continue reading ‘Florida Scores Well In Latest Review Of U.S. Economy.’
Some Manatee County homeowners are receiving letters from companies offering to sell them a certified copy of their deed. These copies are being offered for prices ranging from $50 to $100 per deed. The letters periodically appear in Manatee County and are often concentrated in a specific zip code or neighborhood, so that neighbors receive the letters at the same time.
“Your deed is a public record and is permanently maintained and preserved by the Manatee Clerk of Circuit Court and County Comptroller’s Office,” says Clerk R. B. “Chips” Shore. “You do not have to pay a private company for a copy. You can view and print, for free, a non-certified copy of your deed from our website:
Continue reading ‘Manatee Clerk of Courts warns of unnecessary expenses’
“I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes,”
President Obama, September 12, 2008
Starting the first day of the year in 2013, ObamaCare creates a 3.8% Medicare tax on unearned income, including the sale of real estate.
In February of 2010, appx. five million homes were sold, according to the National Association of Realtors. On any given day, the sale of a house, townhome, condominium, co-op, or income from a rental property can make middle-income families go over the $250,000 level and force them with a new tax they can not afford.
This new ObamaCare tax is the first time the government will apply a 3.8 % tax on unearned income. This new tax on home sales and unearned income and other Medicare taxes raise taxes more than $210 billion to pay for ObamaCare. The National Association of Realtors called this new Medicare tax on unearned income “destructive” and “ill-advised” and warned it would hurt job creation.
How does the Code of Ethics affect everyday real estate practices?
If a REALTOR® represents you, whether you are buying or selling a home, you can count on that REALTOR® to: Continue reading ‘FYI - A Realtors Code of Ethics’
Abstract of Title
The summary of the public records relating to the ownership of a particular piece of land. It represents a short legal history of an individual piece of property from the time of the first recorded transfer to present.
Acceptance
Consent to an offer to enter into contract. Continue reading ‘List of Common Real Estate Terminology A-Through-D’
If you’re thinking about investing in a rental property, experts say low home prices paired with low interest rates make this the best time in years to become a real-estate investor. Continue reading ‘When Is A Good Time To Buy Real Estate For Rental Purposes? — NOW!’
Some homeowners in Sarasota County will not see an increase in their tax rate come, unless they live in one of a couple dozen special taxing districts that are raising their property tax rates. Continue reading ‘Property Taxes in Sarasota Will Not Increase For Some’
Tampa, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale alongside Rochester, NY have ranked in the top 10 best housing markets for investors in rental property, according to a report by HomeVestors of America, and Local Market Monitor. The winners are generally in markets where home prices have fallen substantially, including Tampa, Phoenix, and Las Vegas Predominantly a retirement market, home prices fell 10 percent in Tampa in the last 12 months due to over-supply of investment properties built during the boom. Las Vegas, where home prices are down by more than 50 percent from their market peak, took the top spot in the list, offering the best returns on homes maintained as rental properties, according to the report, which took into account the potential home price appreciation and gross rents. Continue reading ‘Florida - The Best Place for Real Estate Investing’
An Equal Housing Opportunity Realtor®
